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Dog Gone Lies (Pacheco & Chino Mysteries Book 1) (affiliate link)
When ex-Sheriff, turned private investigator, Ray Pacheco is compelled to track down the owner of a lost dog, he thinks it’ll be a routine matter. But as he delves deeper into the seemingly simple assignment, he uncovers a tangled web of deception, betrayal, and murder lurking beneath the surface of this picturesque Southwestern state.
With the help of his trusty companion, Tyee Chino, Ray follows a trail of clues that leads him to a cast of colorful characters, each with their own secrets to hide. From odd-ball eccentrics to ruthless drug dealers, everyone has something to lose – and Ray soon finds himself caught in the crossfire of a deadly game where the stakes couldn’t be higher.
As tensions rise and the body count mounts, Ray must use all his wits and instincts to untangle the truth before it’s too late. But with danger lurking around every corner, he’ll need to stay one step ahead of his adversaries if he hopes to crack the case and bring a killer to justice.
Maggie Dean’s dream of a fresh start in the rugged beauty of Scotland is just within reach—until one brutal night changes everything. Six years of scraping by in a seedy boxing venue come crashing down when a violent attack throws her into the path of rising boxing star Dan Sealey.
A man of unyielding strength. A woman who won’t give up. An enemy who will not stop…
Dan faces a choice: throw the fight to protect his career or step in to save Maggie and risk it all. His fateful decision sparks a storm of danger, temptation, and betrayal, plunging them into a battle for survival against ruthless criminals and dark designs.
As their bond deepens and the shadows close in, Maggie and Dan must confront their enemies—and their own hearts. Running isn’t an option. Standing and fighting might just destroy them.
Feels Like Love (Alondra Valley Book 1) (affiliate link)
I’m secretly in love with my best friend’s little sister.
So, I do what any good friend would—avoid her.
At least, until my house floods, and my best friend suggests I move in with Wren.
Resisting her has never been easy.
But when Wren convinces me to be her dating coach, it’s impossible.
The more we “practice,” the harder I fall for her and her amazing son.
The more I start to believe what we have is real.
It feels like love, but is it worth risking my friendship with Wren and her brother to know if she feels the same?
Just Add Trouble (Hetta Coffey Series, Book 3) (affiliate link)
Hetta Coffey is a sassy Texan with a snazzy yacht, and she’s not afraid to use it!
A globe-trotting engineer with adventure in her soul, Hetta is determined to solidify her relationship with her long-distance boyfriend, Jenks Jenkins. What better place for a romantic interlude than aboard her yacht in Mexico’s hauntingly beautiful and solitary Sea of Cortez?
>>>But where Hetta goes, trouble follows, and chaos is sure to ensue.
After a run-in with a couple of sea serpents that threaten to rock the boat, she nevertheless decides to take on a project in the Mexican port city of Guaymas. After all, Jenks is headed back to Kuwait, so why not cash in on the best of both worlds by picking up a few pesos while living aboard her boat in Mexico?
Captiva Island – A Novel (affiliate link)
“I’m not running. I’m not hiding. I’m just going. There’s a difference.”
Those are the words Nigel Logan used as he disappeared from the only existence he’d ever known. When he arrives at a new port… will his past destroy his future?
It is time to leave the Navy, and Nigel knows it. Still under suspicion for murder, Chief Logan retires and leaves everything behind. Sailing out of Norfolk, Virginia by cover of night with no destination in mind, he lands on Florida’s Forgotten Coast… and jumps straight into a fight.
After rescuing a beautiful bartender from her violent ex and sleeping on a local couple’s couch, the haunted loner quickly makes friends. But as Nigel tries to start over in the sleepy coastal town with fun, crazy people, his dark history refuses to stay buried in the sand.
Can the secretive former sailor keep old mistakes from pushing everything off-course?
Memorials: A Novel (affiliate link)
1983: Three students from a small college embark on a weeklong road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure, with long stretches of empty road and nightly campfires where they begin to open up with one another.
But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a strange, unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it appears they are being followed. Their vehicle is tampered with overnight, and some of the locals appear to be anything but welcoming. Before long, the students can’t help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents…or is something terrifying at work here?
The Kent Family Chronicles Volumes One Through Three (affiliate link)
This multigenerational saga follows the Kent family and their pursuit of a foothold and future in the expanding United States. From the family’s initial journey traveling to America’s shore to their voyage to the Western frontier, their fate is intertwined with the course of American history in these first three volumes of the series.
The Bastard: Denied his birthright as the illegitimate son of the Duke of Kentland, Philippe Charboneau seeks a new life in London, where he meets Benjamin Franklin and reads the works of patriot firebrand Sam Adams. Inspired by such brave new ideas, he travels to the American colonies at the brink of the Revolution. There he will choose his own name—Philip Kent—and finally decide his own fate.
The Fake Wedding Project: A Novel (affiliate link)
Faking an engagement to my secret high school crush was not on my to-do list when I landed for a short visit home. But when Amanda Anderson announces that she’s my fiancée, I take a leap and play along with the farce.
Why? Because the Capulets and Montagues have nothing on the Andersons and Silvers of Tinsel, Michigan. In the name of bringing peace to our Christmas-themed hometown and ourselves, we’ll play the part of Romeo and Juliet.
If our relatives think we’re in love, they’ll have to end this ridiculous feud. Right? Amanda’s a professional dog walker, and I’m an engineer who loves dogs—how hard could it be to show our families what else we all have in common?
The heat and this town’s infernal holiday cheer are messing with my head, though. And once we start making our fake wedding plans, I can’t seem to keep my heart out of it.
Ricochet: A Novel (affiliate link)
Detective Sergeant Duncan Hatcher is called to Judge Cato Laird’s opulent mansion after the judge’s trophy wife, Elise, shoots a man she claims was a burglar. But Duncan suspects her story conceals far more.
Despite warnings—even from his partner—Duncan is increasingly drawn to Elise, a woman whose beauty and secrets pull him into a dangerous investigation. Elise privately shares a shocking claim about Judge Laird’s involvement in a deadly conspiracy. Only as Duncan unravels the truth does he realize it may involve his nemesis, crime lord Robert Savich.
When Elise disappears, Duncan’s sense of duty and attraction collide. With new bodies turning up and loyalties shifting, he must decide what—and whom—to trust. Can he protect his career, his conscience—and the woman he wants most?
Nero: A Novel (The Nero Trilogy) (affiliate link)
The story begins with a hand curled around another man’s throat.
This is Roman justice: Emperor Tiberius first dispatches a traitor—a friend he once trusted with the city—then the man’s whole family and all of his friends. It is as if he never existed.
Into this fevered forum, a child is born. His mother is Agrippina, granddaughter of Emperor Augustus. But their imperial blood is neither balm nor protection. Rather, it is a liability. Blood is easily spilled or poisoned. So swiftly corrupted.
As the aging, paranoid Tiberius becomes blind to the ignoble end awaiting him, Agrippina sees the future. Her once-exiled brother Caligula is next in succession, which brings her another step closer to the heart of the empire—to power, ambition, and danger.
Every day she will face soldiers, senators, rivals, silver-tongued pretenders, each vying for position. One mistake risks exile, incarceration, execution. Or, worst of all, perhaps the loss of her infant son.
The Summer of Songbirds (affiliate link)
Nearly thirty years ago, June Moore bought Camp Holly Springs and turned it into a thriving summer haven for girls. But now, June is in danger of losing the place she has sacrificed everything for and begins to realize how much she has used the camp to avoid facing difficulties in her life.
June’s niece, Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart, during a fateful summer at camp. They’ve all helped each other through hard times and the three are inseparable even in their thirties. But when attorney Daphne is confronted with a relationship from her past—and a confidential issue at work becomes personal—she is faced with an impossible choice.
Lanier, meanwhile, is struggling with tough decisions of her own. After a run-in with an old flame, she is torn between the commitment she made to her fiancé and the one she made to her first love. And when a big secret comes to light, she finds herself at odds with her best friend…and risks losing the person she loves most.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2